Part of the Longman Topics reader series, Writing Places encourages students to examine the locations that define their past, present and future. As students begin to think critically and to write about these places, they realize that location is an enormous part of identity — both personally and academically.   This collection of readings offers a poignant and, oftentimes, moving variety of essays from writers of all ages, styles, and backgrounds. It is designed to be flexible to any teaching method and any composition class. The text is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction for both instructors and students to the concept of writing about place. The middle three chapters divide the essays by the period of time represented in the author’s work. The last chapter provides valuable instruction from start to finish for the writing process. It focuses specifically on how to better understand the meaning of place in life and writing.  “Longman Topics” are brief, attractive readers on a single, complex, but compelling topic. Featuring about 30 full-length selections, these volumes are generally half the size and half the cost of standard composition readers.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents   Topical Contents                                                                                                                              ix Preface for Instructors                                                                                                                    xiii Acknowledgements                                                                                                                          xv Preface for Students                                                                                                                        xvii     CHAPTER 1  Where Are We From?                                                                  1                   Kimberly Wheaton, Mom and the Kitchen                                                                           4                   Catherine Black, The Joy of Mud                                                                                       8   Virginia Di Tata, A Bridge Between Two Cultures                                                             14                   BlaineHarden, A History in Concrete                                                                                18   Tim Lindgren, On Being From Fargo                                                                                  24                   David Sedaris, Our Perfect Summer                                                                                  30                   Andrea Casassa, The Coffee Shop                                                                                   38   Gian-Karlo Casimiro, Get Off at 161st and Transfer To the Truth                                     44   Felicia Madlock, Where I’m From                                                                                        48   Matthew O’Conner, Circles                                                                                                 51     CHAPTER 2    Where Are We?                                                                         57                   Derek Owens, Where I’m Writing From                                                                         61   Gabriela de la Huerta, En Mi Cucina/In My Kitchen                                                            75                   Emily Keane, Structured Chaos                                                                                          77                   Ron Fletcher, By Dawn’s Early Light                                                                                  81                   Ray Gonzalez, Hazardous Cargo                                                                                      85                   Rose Arrieta, A Nation Divided                                                                                           92                   Mathew Dudley, The Dope on Head Shops                                                                     102                   Ian Frazier, Someplace in Queens                                                                                   107   Robin Dunn, King’s Chapel and Burying Ground                                                              116                   Shawn McGrath, Punk Isn’t Dead, But the Fans                 Just Might Kill It                                                                                                                  122                   Rebecca Solnit, The Silence of the Lambswool                 Cardigans                                                                                                                           130                   Julia Corbett, Robotic Iguanas                                                                                           134                   Jeffrey A. Lockwood, Becoming Native                                                                             139   CHAPTER 3   Tools for Getting Places                                                            147                   Rodney Rothman, My Fake Job                                                                                  150   Sonny Fabbri, Scientific Applications                                                                                 166   Eric Schlosser, On the Range                                                                                           171   Chiori Santiago, The Flavor of Hope                                                                                 186   Rebecca Solnit, The Orbits of Earthly Bodies                                                                   190   Marcus Renner, The People’s Freeway                                                                           193   Bill McKibben, Serious Wind                                                                                              203   Erin Komada, Auburn Renewals                                                                                       207   Stephan Doheny-Farina, Virtual Vermont: The Rise Of the Global and the Decline of the Local                                                                       212   William McDonough and Michael Braungart, A New Geography of Hope                                                                                                          225     CHAPTER 4   Tools for Getting Places                                                           239                   Getting Oriented                                                                                                               239                   Interviewing                                                                                                                      240                   Taking Notes as You Observe a Place                                                                           244                   Responding to Classmates’ Essays on Place                                                                 245                   Locating Aerial and Topographical Photos                                                                      246                   Bioregional Quizzes                                                                                                         247                   Accessing Webcams                                                                                                       248                   Letterboxing                                                                                                                     249                   Neighborhood Writing Groups                                                                                         249                   Chambers of Commerce, Historical Societies,                                 And Colleges or University Archives                                                               249                   Online Databases                                                                                                                                                                                             250                   Credits                                                                                                                             000